Honoring the Salamon Family: Pride of Seaman, Ohio

The Adams County Community Foundation is especially proud to honor the Salamon Family, Dr. Alexander and Lilly Salamon and their most distinguished daughters: Julie Salamon, celebrated author, journalist, and storyteller, and her sister Dr. Suzanne Salamon, a leading physician in geriatric medicine. Their lives and work are a testament to the power of compassion, resilience, and service — qualities deeply rooted in their upbringing in Adams County.

Alexander and Lilly Salamon: by Julie and Suzanne

Alexander and Lilly Salamon arrived in Seaman, Ohio in May, 1953, when Lilly was seven months pregnant with their second daughter, Julie. It was an unlikely landing for Jewish Holocaust survivors, who had survived Nazi death camps and emigrated to the United States in early 1948.

They lived in New York city, where their first daughter Suzanne was born, for their first five years in this country. They were from the eastern part of Czechoslovakia, an area which was absorbed by Ukraine after World War II. Alexander was a physician, whose first wife and toddler – a daughter – were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Lilly, who was thirteen years his junior, became his wife and his business partner until Alexander died in 1971, at the age of 62.

Adams County became their haven. For eighteen years Alexander delivered babies, set bones, eased bursitis and provided comfort and healing to his patients. In return, he felt their love and the blessing of a safe place to raise his children which seemed like a miracle after all he had lost.

Lilly ran Dr. Salamon’s medical office and managed their dairy farm. She was a character who cut coupons with one hand and business deals with the other. She once said she was like a cat with nine lives – and those lives were large.

She remarried four years after Alexander died, to Arthur Salcman, another refugee from Europe, who was an engineer. They were married for 35 years until Arthur died in 2010. Throughout her life Lilly shared her experiences with school children and at churches and synagogues. Like Alexander, she believed in service.

Suzanne took care of Lilly during the last four years of her life, until she died at 101 in 2024. Julie told her parents’ story in THE NET OF DREAMS, which was published in 1996.

Added by Suzanne, “I’d like to thank the people of Adams County for giving my parents a real home, after the trauma they had gone through. It was like a huge, warm hug which we have never forgotten and continues to live inside us now.”

Roots in Seaman, Adams County

Julie and Suzanne Salamon were raised in Seaman, where their father, Dr. Alexander “Sanyi” Salamon, served as the town doctor and was deeply respected for his decades of caring for the community. Their mother, Lilly (née Rapaport), a survivor of Auschwitz, rebuilt her life in Adams County with strength, faith, and generosity.

In this environment, the values of service, empathy, and perseverance were more than ideals — they were lived daily. These values would shape Julie and Suzanne’s paths in profound ways.

Julie Salamon: Author & Cultural Commentator

Julie Salamon has earned national acclaim as a writer and journalist. Her journey includes:

A B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from New York University.
Longstanding roles in journalism: she’s written as film critic for The Wall Street Journal and as a culture writer and critic for The New York Times.Thirteen books spanning nonfiction, fiction, memoir, and children’s literature. Some prominent works: The Devil’s Candy, Rambam’s Ladder, Facing the Wind, The Net of Dreams, The Christmas Tree, Wendy and the Lost Boys, and One More Story, Tata (2024).
Honors including induction into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, multiple Ohioana Library Awards, and recognition as a powerful moral voice in discussions around generosity, memory, ethics, and identity.

Julie’s writing often reflects on her family’s past, the experience of being a child of Holocaust survivors, and the role of medicine and care in human dignity.

Beyond her literary achievements, for more than 25 years Julie has been board chair of Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) a leading non-profit organization in New York City that provides housing and treatment services to thousands of homeless adults every year. Her advocacy for empathy and justice – both in her writing and her service, reflects the spirit of community that defines Adams County.

Dr. Suzanne Salamon: Physician & Advocate for Eldercare

While Julie tells stories through words, Suzanne Salamon has devoted her life to caring for the elderly — preserving dignity, enabling comfort, and providing compassion where it is often most needed. Among her many accomplishments:

Geriatrician and medical leadership: Dr. Suzanne Salamon is Associate Chief of Clinical Geriatrics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where she plays a leading role in programs caring for older adults.
Professional contributions: Suzanne brings clinical, ethical, and personal insight into elder care, especially in areas such as end-of-life discussions, caregiver support, and navigating the complexities of aging in America.
Publications: Dr. Salamon has authored a range of works focused on geriatric health, aging, and patient education. Her most notable peer-reviewed article, “Doctor/Daughter/Caregiver: Would I Do It Again?”, appeared in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A in 2024, reflecting on the personal and professional challenges of caregiving in later life. Beyond academic writing, she serves as geriatrics editor for Harvard Health Publishing, where she has written and edited numerous accessible health articles and Harvard Medical School Special Health Reports, including Better Balance and Aging in Place.
Personal caregiving: Beyond her professional work, Suzanne and Julie’s mother, Lilly, moved in with Suzanne and her husband Alan during the last 4 years of her life until she died at age 101 ½. That experience greatly deepened her understanding of patient care, family involvement, and the emotional as well as medical needs of older persons.
Public voice and advocacy: Alongside her sister Julie, Suzanne has participated in public dialogues about health care “from the inside out,” offering both perspectives — that of the medical professional, and that of a family shaped by medical service and survivor history.

Shared Legacy & Impact

Together, Julie and Suzanne embody a powerful legacy — one born in Seaman, characterized by love and hardship, and cultivated by parents whose lives were defined by survival, service, and moral courage.

Their contributions are not just individual achievements; they reflect and uplift the values of our community:

Storytelling that preserves history, identity, and moral inquiry.
Medical care steeped in empathy, expertise, and dedication.
Bridging the personal and the professional to serve others.

Julie Salamon’s book Unlikely Friends, available on Audible.com, is narrated by Julie herself and features the voices of her mother, sister, high school history teacher, and childhood friends from Seaman. As Julie describes, “It’s a memoir about friendship and family, race and religion, country and community – a place where a grown-up New Yorker (me) reconsiders her Appalachian (and Hungarian and Jewish) roots.”

A Tribute from Adams County

The Adams County Community Foundation proudly salutes Dr. Alexander and Lilly Salamon and their daughters, Julie Salamon and Dr. Suzanne Salamon. From the quiet hills of Seaman to the pages of books, the corridors of hospitals, and conversations that shape how we understand care, memory, and humanity — their work shines. May their stories continue to inspire our community to cherish education, service, compassion, and the bonds of family that sustain us all.